15 May 2013

A SIMPLE MASTERPIECE

Million Dollar Baby is truly the Best Picture of the Year. So simple and poof! A MASTERPIECE. Hilary Swank gave one of the Best performances by an actress this year. From the start a lot thought that The Aviator will win Best Picture when in fact when the it was weeks before the oscars Million Dollar Baby was just beating the Aviator with the other awards. This movie is perfect: great movie, great acting, direction, and writing. Don't ditch this movie. :)

samuelding85

14 May 2013

The baby who cant reach the million dollar target

Million Dollar Baby is Clint Eastwood's most recent appearance on bigscreen after Bloodwork. Witb the strong cast of Hilary Swank and MorganFreeman together with Eastwood himself, it was supposed to be one ofhis best films he made.However, i would say i prefer his previous production, Mystic River.Million Dollar Baby is more of a journey of how Maggie Fitzgerald,which was portrayed by Hilary Swank, becomes a female boxer, whom sheinsisted to be trained by ex-fighter, Frankie Dunn (Eastwood), who nowruns a old gym, together with his previous fighter, Eddie Scrap(Freeman). This somehow goes a distance from what the plot should be.Million Dollar Baby do not have the suspense of Mystic River, butmagnifies the ugliness of human being. From the style of how the boxerfights, the training session in the gym to Maggie mother's attitude onpreferring money over a new house when Maggie bought a new house forher family members, Eastwood brings in the ugliness to the audiencethrough the group of less fortunates social level.Hilary Swank makes another excellent performance after her awardwinning role in Boy's Don't Cry. Morgan Freeman, on the other hand,seems to be suffering from malnutrition in terms of dialogue. Hedoesn't have much dialogue in the film, and neither did he make anybreakthrough performances. However, he narrates the film, which will bediscuss later.Now back to Eastwood. His performance as a former boxer cum Maggie'scoach has not been affected by his 'cowboy image' from his previouswell-known cowboy shows. But in terms of direction, it brings back thewordy dialogue, minus the suspense.What makes the movie watchable was the narration by Freeman. Beginningwith how Eastwood becomes a trainer, Freeman tells the story of themain characters through his eyes and his experience. If the film wasnarrated by Eastwood, it would gives us another side of the story,which can make Million better.In all, the baby fails to earn an million, but managed to earned 3/5 ofa million.There are times where

Brett Roe

08 May 2013

Manipulative, Illogical, bigoted

One of the most frustratingly disappointing movies I've seen in recentyears, especially given the critical reviews, its academy award forbest picture, and the quality cast.On the plus side: it is a technically well-made film with good acting,as one would expect from the people involved. It also does a nice job(mostly in the first half of the film) of presenting the boxing gym asa microcosm in which a diverse group of people at very different pointsin their lives struggle with the demands of boxing for individualreasons. It's too bad this wasn't the main focus of the film.On the negative side: (WARNING: spoilers ahead!) This is what issometimes referred to as a "kill the kitten movie." It presents aninnocent and almost too good to be true character that the audiencewill care about and root for (the kitten), and then has somethingterrible happen to that character (the kitten gets hit by a car). Theaudience is of course deeply moved by the tragedy, which creates theillusion of powerful drama when it is really just cheap, genericmanipulation. In this case, the Hillary Swank character is a beautiful,plucky, brave, generous, determined young woman from an impoverishedbackground who has not a single fault (even her teeth are movie starperfect despite her family genetics, poor upbringing and boxingcareer). So, the screen play has something really bad and really unfairhappen to her to evoke "kill the kitten" emotions. Unfortunately, notonly is the tragic turn in the movie manipulative, it's also highlyillogical. While the incident occurs in a public sporting eventsignificant enough to have a large audience and to be televised, andinvolves a felonious act by an at least marginally famous athlete,there is no media follow up to the event, and no holding theperpetrator legally or financially responsible for the consequences.Then, the seriously injured victim is sent to 2 different medicalfacilities in which she never receives any counseling for thepsychological trauma she's going through, and is placed in a medicallyinappropriate bed (I know whereof I speak) that results in terrible andunnecessary pressure ulcers that add to her woes. Finally, to evokeeven more visceral responses, the movie resorts to playing on what itapparently considers to be "acceptable" prejudices. The protagonist'sfamily members are presented as disgusting and stereotypical examplesof "white trash:" ignorant, lazy, selfish, irresponsible, dishonest,parasitical people with West Virginan accents. Personally, I found thisdepiction offensive and reprehensible. There's also the depiction of acompletely ineffectual priest who shows us that religion is useless andirrelevant in times of tragedy and ethical dilemmas. This appears to bean implicit justification for the "shocking" ending which I found toocontrived to be controversial.Apparently, mine is a minority opinion, but I've met a number of otherpeople who share it. Here's hoping for better movies.

Tool Man

08 May 2013

Wonderfully Brilliant Surprising Masterpiece

To be honest, when I first heard about this movie and that it was Mr.Eastwood's next film venture, I was a bit skeptical. Even though I am adie-hard Clint Eastwood fan, even giving my son the middle nameEastwood, it sounded like a boring story and not up my idol's alley.Then of course, after watching the trailer, I became intrigued and thenof course, after all the critical praise, became intent on seeing itsoon. Trouble was, it was only playing at one theater in my area and agood thirty miles from home. Tonight, I decided to make the trip andboy my efforts paid off. This film starts out to be a great story andsweet, funny and visually stunning and then once it starts to reachit's climax, changes gears and goes another direction. I won't tell youwhere it heads, but suffice it say, this film was just marvelous. Also,be prepared, that if some films tug at your heart strings, it may beworthwhile to take some tissues with you. Just do whatever you can tosee this movie, you'll be glad you did. Bravo Clint, All The Very BestAnd Many Years To Come.

06 May 2013

WOW!!!!!

One of the best movies I have watched in a long time!! Highly recommend to EVERY one - not just men!!!!!!!

uise

06 May 2013

no logic for the climax.

the movie is missing the logic for the climax. in the final match sheis hit from the back by her opponent. we see that she didn't win thematch, so she was hit during the match. so why her experimentedtrainer, put the chair in the ring before the bell ? and in this case,we should see the guilt, not only a helpful and emphatic guy. the movietalks 90% of the time about the path of a champion, and almost nothingabout the interior conflict after. it's a missed movie with a very goodintrigue ( which comes only at the end). it is raised the problem ofeuthanasia, which is solved very quickly. before the climax there isthe story of the stupid boxer who is beaten up buy his colleagues. it'sirrelevant, has nothing to do with the main story

justint-5

04 May 2013

Loved It!

I would recommend this movie to everybody! Great Storyline Great ActionGreat movie. I will surely see this movie again and again!. Its is notoften that you find a movie of this class everybody that i haverecommended this movie to also loved it, Its a pity it got such a spoton the top 250 because i would definitely rate it higher. MorganFreeman and Clint Eastwood are great together they provide what themovie needs for Action even though i loved Hillary Swank's role in itto, very feisty and yet so relaxed. the movie does have some bad pointindeed but that makes the movie the best of its genre.at first ithought that it would be a boring movie until i actually watched it andloved it.

04 May 2013

Silent masterpiece

Picked this one up off Sky box office and have to admit that I hadnever heard of it. Not quite keeping up with the latest movies as muchas I'd like recently. Scrolled through and the synopsis looked good...and Clint Eastwood directing won me over..An absolute masterpiece that pushes you through a roller-coaster ofemotions. Brilliant. Clint Eastwood plays his usual, difficult andunforgiving role with a touch of brilliance.Casting for this movie was really thought out by someone. MorganFreeman, do I need to say any more.. The guy is an acting god andprovides a kind of a Shawshank similar narrator role, along with anoutright perfect performance on set.As for Maggie, prepare yourselves to metaphorically adopt the girlduring the movie and feel the ups and downs of the boxing world.The film is based around boxing but I would say it draws more fromhuman values. Do not put this one back on the shelf just because of theboxing, you'll be missing a classic.Brilliant, watch it!

helenlew

29 April 2013

Down for the Count

O.K. Boxing leaves me cold or maybe I should say - usually boxingleaves one of the boxer's cold. I'm not trying to be facetious butClint Eastwood took a theme which is totally improbable yet I found itinteresting and moving. For most of the movie, I found the plot welldeveloped, the characters interesting and the grimy backgroundbelievable. And what do you know, that girl can punch - one wallop anddown they go until one day, down she went. And so did the movie. If themovie would have ended before the lengthy hospital scenes, I would havewalked out and thought, well she did what she wanted to with the helpof a moody, guilt ridden manager. He really overdid "moody" but hey,this is a movie. Now to get to the sad part and it was sad, sad. He wassad, she was sick and sad. Her folks were especially sad since no moremoney was forthcoming. Anyway, as the sun sets in the west, the moviesank lower and lower into despair until the end. And so the moodymanager vanished into the night, or did he?

crtt_36

29 April 2013

Extremely weak......................

My background is in law enforcement and respiratory therapy. Thus I wasEXTREMELY disappointed with how the movie ended. If one turns aventilator OFF there is NO need to disconnect the patient from thecircuit. Also, as we are all aware from hearing Christopher Reeve'sbeing interviewed when a person is trach'ed their voice is choppy andairy. And it would have been a walk in the park for law enforcement totrack down the person who turned the ventilator off and administeredthe lethal injection of adrenaline. When Maggie asked Boss the 1st timeif he would put her out of her misery he had the most excellentopportunity to say to her what she said to him earlier in the movie,"You're all I have." I will not be recommending this movie to anyone.

23 April 2013

very moving

I was really surprised by how much I liked this film. The caracters were deep and very human, I will always love Morgan Freeman, and Swank is very convincing as the female boxer. It all looked real and everyone did a wonderful job. My only complaint is that I felt she gave up at the end of the movie and took the easy way out. She could have been an inspiration to many people even stuck in a wheelchair and paralyzed.

22 April 2013

A Knock Out!

This movie represents why movies are made! It has so many morals (like the usal 'underdog'[renued]) and it has so many lovable character's like 'Danger'and is a truly soul gripping movie that brightly shows the heart and soul of the story. A must see! Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman shine!

21 April 2013

Knocked the Wind Out of Me

Million Dollar Baby is not only a movie about boxing, but even more, it is about humanity. A hard-shelled boxing trainer (Eastwood)is turned to jelly by the tragic and shocking events that happen in the life of a boxer (Swank). Eastwood, the director, gives one of his most-versatile performances, and Swank is captivating. You will likely think about this movie for days. Best movie I've seen in some time.

21 April 2013

Show me a fighter whos nothing but heart, and Ill show you a man whos waiting for a beatin.

Masterpiece. Engrossing. Heartbreaking. All words that describe aJohnny Betts movie review. But they can also be used to describe ClintEastwood's latest project - Million Dollar Baby. Make no mistake aboutit; I'm a huge Eastwood mark. So you might be inclined to believe thatsince I'm a fan, I'm just gonna praise whatever he does. That's notentirely true though. The man has an Oscar resting comfortably upon hisshelf, so he certainly doesn't need my validation.Clint is no stranger to critical success, but for my money MillionDollar Baby is a better movie than his other two most heralded movies -Unforgiven (which I felt was overrated and one of Clint's weakerWesterns) and Mystic River, Clint's Oscar-hyped wristslitter of 2003.They all have their merits, but Million Dollar Baby has a fascinatingcombination of deliberate, gripping storytelling, great acting, sparsebut well-placed music, engaging drama, and subtle humor that the othersdon't have. Oh, and the boxing in the movie is very realistic, nothingfancy or over-the-top.Speaking of boxing, the word alone is enough to turn off some viewers.One of the first responses I get whenever I start explaining the plotto this movie is, "Oh, I don't like boxing movies, so I probably won'tlike it." One thing you need to understand is that this is not a boxingmovie. It's a movie about human relationships that just happens to useboxing as its backdrop.There's the relationship between Frankie and Scrap. Frankie worked as acut man for Scrap many years ago, and twenty-three years later, Frankiestill feels responsible for Scrap losing sight in his right eye after aparticularly brutal fight. But their friendship has remained strong.Clint and Freeman display such a great chemistry that you actually feellike they've been friends for over twenty years. Well, I did at least.They sound like an old married couple at times, arguing over sillythings like the holes in Scrap's socks or Frankie's less-than-jovialdemeanor. The dialogue is funny and crisp without being overlyeloquent. Exactly what you'd expect from a couple of guys who've beenaround boxing their whole lives.Then there's the father/daughter relationship between Frankie andMaggie. Frankie has no relationship with his actual daughter - asevidenced by the fact that the letters he sends her every week alwaysreturn un-opened and marked "Return to sender." We never really findout why his daughter hates him so much, but I assume his involvement inthe boxing business kept him from being around her, and she hasn'tforgiven him. Maggie's dad died when she was young, but Frankie remindsher a lot of him. Once he starts to train her, Frankie is really theonly person she can depend on, and they form a strong bond that bothwere previously missing in their lives.Hilary Swank, as Maggie, is impressive enough to finally make us allforget about The Core. I didn't expect to like her character very much,so I walked away pleasantly surprised. Her southern accent just soundedtoo fake in the trailers, but I got used to it, and I was shocked tofind myself caring about Maggie. Note to Hilary: KEEP YOUR HAIR LONG! Ilike the movie's straight-forward message about how sometimes in life,having the heart and desire to do something isn't always enough. It'slike Frankie says, "Show me a fighter who's nothing but heart, and I'llshow you a man who's waiting for a beatin'." It's not a lesson a lot ofpeople want to hear, but it's just the kick in the pants that a lot ofpeople need.I wasn't as pleased, however, with the movie's ending. And this issomething that might cause a lot of people to be really upset. I can'tsay much because I'd give too much away, but I can say that a couple ofcharacters make some decisions I don't condone. But it's done in a waynot to be preachy. A character is even advised against taking a certaincourse of action, and then the audience is left to see what choice ismade.In a recent interview, Clint was asked about the controversial ending,and he replied, "I'm just telling a story. I don't advocate. I'mplaying a part. I've gone around in movies blowing people away with a.44 magnum. But that doesn't mean I think that's a proper thing to do."That's honestly the best way to look at it.Is the ending depressing? Sure. Do I have my own ideas of how the moviecould've ended on a better note? Yep. But that's life. Reality isn'talways pretty, and this movie does a good job of capturing thatrealism, regardless of whether we agree with certain decisions or not.You can choose to put a situation in God's hands, or you can attempt tosolve it on your own. You just have to be willing to accept theconsequences of your decision.THE GIST Million Dollar Baby is simple at its core - a movie that uses greatperformances to do a great job of storytelling. If you're a fan ofanybody in the cast and you can handle something with aless-than-cheerful ending, then Million Dollar Baby will keep yourinterest. Just make sure you bring some Kleenex. But if you prefer towalk out of a movie whistling and tapping your feet, then I suggestlooking elsewhere.Oh, and guys, if you happen to notice a salty liquid substance formingaround the rims of your eyes, then don't worry too much. It's like theMemphis Tigers football coach (Tommy West) says, "Men don't cry, theireyes sweat." Keep that excuse handy, and you'll be fine.

Tim Hodgson

13 April 2013

Its a knockout ...

Flawlessly written, acted and directed, MILLION DOLLAR BABY is beinghymned and wreathed by the critics as the best film of 2004. They'reabsolutely right. "An old master's new masterpiece," the NEW YORK TIMESsaid in a review that was more of an open love letter to Eastwood thananything remotely resembling a critical analysis of the film itself.For once such honey-tongued critical adulation is fully merited. Dark,edgy, subtle and at times emotionally devastating, MILLION DOLLAR BABYrepresents the apotheosis of Eastwood's art - the most lucid andintelligently limned expression of his philosophy of the outsider, thenoble loners whose personal codes of honour set them both above andapart from the compromised, corrupt societies they inhabit. The BoxingRing As Metaphor For Life is a hoary trope almost as old as Hollywooditself, employed to varying effect in films as diverse as THE CHAMP,GOLDEN BOY, REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT, THE GREAT WHITE HOPE, FAT CITY,ROCKY and RAGING BULL. In MILLION DOLLAR BABY, though, Eastwood thedirector brings a fresh eye and an entirely fresh approach to both thesetting and characterisations, virtually re-inventing this venerablesub-genre rather than simply recycling its conventions. Eastwood theactor is in fine form - a commanding if increasingly weather-beatenpresence - as gym owner Frankie Dunn. A case study in loneliness,Dunn's creased face is a map of places you'd rather not go to anddisappointment has clearly been a life-long companion. Co-stars HilarySwank and the magnificent Morgan Freeman, playing Frankie's unlikelyprotegee Maggie Fitzgerald and friend "Scrap-Iron" Dupris, give whatare without question the best performances of their respective careers:deftly underplayed, their roles provide emotionally overwhelmingimpacts more powerful than anything glimpsed in the film's riotousfight sequences. Forming an iron triangle forged from mutualdependence, Dunn and Dupris school the impulsive but untutored Maggiein both the techniques of boxing and the tradecraft of survival in aworld pre-disposed to pulverise individualism. The canvas-flooredsquare ring becomes the arena in which all three characters confronttheir various demons, battling for both victory and personalredemption. Paul Haggis' screenplay is itself a masterwork, improvingon its source material without betraying the concise but compellingsituations and superbly drawn characters found in F.X. Toole's shortstories. And, finally, Eastwood the composer's elegiac but unobtrusivescore is a minor classic of its kind, a requiem to both lost souls andlost causes. MILLION DOLLAR BABY is not only the best film released in2004 it is also the most fully realised and richly textured majorstudio movie of the decade.

CUDIU

12 April 2013

Well acted, finely directed. But...

This movie starts just as if it were a new sequel of the Karate Kidsaga (has this something to do with Swank acting in Karate Kid IV?)...how many times have we seen the lonely and tough hero desperatelytrying to work her/his way out of the mud thanks to sport competition?How many wise life-beaten trainers have we already seen? And of courseall of them have to have their hidden past, which they try uselessly toforget and redeem. Which past is always condensed in one singleepiphany, in perfect Hollywood style. Here poor Clint-Frankie ishaunted by that last fight of his friend's: Clint was incapable offorcing him to give up. His friend Freeman-Scrap lost an eye for that.Nevertheless Scrap's presence is a clear break of the scheme "oldtrainer and young guy manage to overcome difficulties and win thechampionship". Scrap is a sort of wise double of Frankie, himselfhaving something to regret in his past (he has something of a personalredemption when he knocks down a young smart ass at the gym).And, naturally, the movie eventually comes out of the cliché when wesee that there is no final win. A more tragic ending could not havebeen devised. Giving no happy ending is supremely honest and makes themovie absolutely bearable. But maybe nobody deserved such a tragicfinale. What of poor Frankie Dunn? He does not manage to reestablishany kind of contact with his daughter, loses his adoptive one, and iseven obliged to kill her! Even his religious ethics is thus ruined. Ido not feel better because of this terrible ending. Did we need itother than for weeping a bit before the credits? Or for giving ourvote, if we are incidentally members of the Academy? Luckily, some gagsare sprinkled over the story, which make the whole thing better. Thecharacter of Danger is very funny and a definite relief for theaudience.Well, anyway the movie is splendidly directed and acted. This is thevery best about it. Mighty performances by Eastwood (both as actor anddirector), Freeman and Swank. Technically Million Dollar Baby is almostperfect (take production designing for example). Another thing I likedis the chilling portrait of Maggie's family, unfortunately much toocredible.Moreover Million Dollar Baby is obviously remarkable, and it would beso even if it had been a total failure, for being the first great filmabout a woman boxer. As a she-Rocky, Maggie is no stereotype. The fightand training scenes anyway are not convincing, Swank moves in a strangeway, even if she seems to punch real hard.All in all the movie is good. Technically it is excellent. It is evenhonest in that it tries occasionally to escape easy solutions. But itdefinitely lacks originality.No doubt, The Aviator was better.

bain0038

07 April 2013

Tremedous

I steered clear after this movie even when it won best picture. Isuppose I wasn't interested in watching a film about female boxer justas Eastwood's character wasn't interested in training one. That said, Ifinally watched it. The movie is simply captivating. Each character isequally interesting. Watching Freeman and Eastwood interact isbrilliant. The story itself is about a desperate, white trash,waitress, (Swank) who dedicates her life to a sport that doesn'tnecessarily want her. Eastwood is a jaded boxing coach with a deeppast. And Freeman plays a long retired boxer who was never able to makegood with his big chance. It's a dark film, and the cinematography isappropriate to that. The only issue I had is that the antagonists aresimply too easy to hate. They are not complicated enough. However,considering everything else in is to its advantage i rate this one10/10.

toffeedragon-3

06 April 2013

A Clint special

The themes in this movie have been addressed before in various guises,however, this is no reason not to address them again and I'm glad Clintdid. Some of the themes I refer to are 'always follow your dream', 'bethe best you can be and win against all costs', 'poor uneducated andunloved underdog comes good' and 'man seeks redemption'.The acting is very good and the banter between Eastwood and Freeman isparticularly enjoyable at points especially the bit about the socks. Iwould agree with some of the other reviewers who felt that parts of thefilm were manipulative and contrived as the family characters were sounsympathetic and hateful with no redeeming features that it does tryto force your hand about how you are supposed to feel.I also found the fight in which the main character, Maggie, is injuredto be particularly annoying as the German fighter's cheating anticswould surely have seen her disqualified as it was hardly illegalunderground boxing. Also as there is no mention of the fight'saftermath and it would have been nice, but not essential, to know ifthe German fighter was indeed disqualified or banned from fighting. Thefact that there is no closure on this issue made me feel a bitirritated as surely someone as passionate about her boxing as Maggiewould have asked Frankie (Eastwood) when she was able.Criticism aside I really did enjoy this movie and the way thebonecrunching (literally) scene was filmed it left me rubbing my neckand gave me an unforgettable 'inhalation through gritted teeth' moment.This movie is definitely above average with good cinematography andsound quality. There are some memorable characters such as the 'evil'German boxer and Danger a hopeless gym member who mistakenly believeshe is ready for his first fight.It is really worth seeing if you like sentimental movies with anemotional premise mixed with good acting. Definitely worth an 8 out of10.

homer1217

05 April 2013

Close To Perfection

Plain and simple this movie is almost a perfect movie. The only thingkeeping it from being perfect is that I personally don't believe thereis a perfect movie. This gets as close as it gets. Clint Eastwood wasvery good, and I am not a big fan of his. Morgan Freeman was kind ofwasted, but was still terrific, they just didn't give him much to do.Hilary Swank's performance was beyond words. Never have I been so movedto laugh and to cry as I was by this film. It made me want to stand upand cheer, made me want to cry my eyes out, made me laugh my ****s off,and really, REALLY made me wish this movie would not end. If you canonly see one movie this year, or next year, you will be doing yourselfa service by seeing this movie!If Swank doesn't win Best Actress, the Oscars will forever be taintedin my eyes.......

Steve S

05 April 2013

Almost a masterpiece

I agree with most of the posters on here: The first 2/3rds of the movieare outstanding but the last portion is what is bothering me and mostpeople, I believe. I knew the story wan't going to end like Rocky butwhat happened threw me way off course. I know it was depressing and notthe uplifting feeling we were looking for but it did have someunrealistic things happening that bothered me. Could Frankie reallyhave done what he did without getting caught? No. Any yes, everyoneknows she would have been named champ based on disqualification. I knowthese things aren't central to the theme of the movie but don't treatus like we're stupid. They could have changed the screenplay to make itmore factual and still kept to the same storyline. Still a great movie.If Swank doesn't win Best Actress she was robbed. I think with thispicture she might have positioned herself as the top actress inHollywood (any thoughts on this?). I mean real actress, not movie star.Morgan Freeman was fantastic as usual and Clint was good but not hisbest acting work. I think the reason I'm writing this piece is due tothe fact that I had such high expectations for this film, over the pastweek I've had several people say it was the best they've ever seen.It's hard to walk away completely satisfied after that kind ofbuild-up.